Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Marked by discrepancy; disagreeing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Different; disagreeing; contrary; at variance.
  • noun One who disagrees or dissents from another, especially in religious belief; a dissenter.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Discordant; at variance; disagreeing; contrary; different.
  • noun A dissident.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Showing difference; inconsistent, dissimilar.
  • noun archaic A dissident.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not compatible with other facts
  • adjective not in agreement
  • adjective not in accord

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English discrepaunt, from Latin discrepāns, discrepant-, present participle of discrepāre, to disagree : dis-, apart; see dis– + crepāre, to rattle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin discrepāntem, present participle of discrepāre ("to differ in sound, differ, disagree"), from dis- ("apart") + crepare ("to make a noise, crackle").

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Examples

  • Two different tests done on all 6,255 people found that 131 had "discrepant" results - where one is positive and the other negative, the report said.

    unknown title 2009

  • In their already discrepant accounts of the miraculous birth, the four gospels give us no clue as to what time of year—or even what year—it is supposed to have taken place.

    Forced Merriment: The True Spirit of Christmas Christopher Hitchens 2011

  • McDonald said he has found discrepant numbers even in the final certified results.

    Wisconsin Election Bombshell: How Plausible? 2011

  • The discrepant goals of journalist and subject are never more apparent than when one requests approval over one's final quotes.

    Sam Harris: The Perils of the Print Interview Sam Harris 2011

  • I am still reading Brooks's book, and I hope he will demonstrate to me how these two discrepant impulses can be reconciled in an account of literary realism.

    Realism in Fiction 2008

  • * Because GlaxoSmithKline and other drug companies have control over the creation of the science, Healy argues, “there is almost no possibility of discrepant data emerging to trigger a thought that might be unwelcome to the marketing department of a pharmaceutical company.”

    Crazy Like Us Ethan Watters 2010

  • Even if you have the same tattoos, her values and lifestyle are so discrepant from your own that you feel uncomfortable.

    Dr. Irene S. Levine: Once Best Friends: Can this friendship survive? 2010

  • Furthermore, several values for the food allergens were discrepant around the 50% and 95% positive predictive values for clinical reactivity.

    Different Allergy Tests: Different Results Steve Carper 2008

  • As a professional keenly aware of the complexities involved with body image, I've ached at particular moments when Oprah's actions lent direct endorsement to the diet industry's marketing gurus, reinforcing messages that encourage striving for a body size, shape, and image discrepant from one that can be sustained with a healthy approach.

    The Dieting Dilemma: Oprah Finally Gets It Jane Shure 2010

  • For me, it was one of many moments in my professional development when I paused to take in the feedback from a person in the patient position, feedback that has often been discrepant from the feedback given by those of us in the so-called "expert" position.

    Jane Shure: Reflections on the Doctor Patient Hierarchy in Psychotherapy 2010

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